11/26/2009

Letters from Boot Camp #2

Timmy: Hey, Mama, I'm going to start this letter by saying NO NO Christmas present...One kid got a sack of candy on Halloween; they made him run around the entire base screaming "trick or treat" at the top of his lungs for an hour. What would they do to me if I got a Christmas present? We can do Thanksgiving and Christmas the week I get back in January. We may look weird having lights and a tree in late January, but the neighbors think we're weird anyway.

This week, we did Obstacle Course. The kind you see in the movies. We also did Confidence Course, which is Obstacle Course only 20 feet higher in the air. I got to see a fat kid fall the full 20 feet from a rope into mud. It was the highlight of my week.

Next week is Water Survival. I'm picturing a tan session by the pool. I'm looking forward to it.

I'll give you a list of what I have gotten into trouble for.

Boot Camp Transgressions:

1. Smiling

2. Laughing

3. Giving another recruit a high-5 (by far my worst punishment)

4. Eating with my left hand (apparently the military hates lefties)

[editor's note: Timmy is right-handed but he learned to eat by watching his left-handed mother]

5. "looking too much like Kevin Bacon"

Mama, I'll understand if you have to put Ginger down (cat who is poised at the Rainbow Bridge); nobody lives forever. Keep the letters coming.

8 comments:

I'm saving this post for my father to read. He retired with 40+ years military and he used to recruit, so he will love what your son wrote. What a great sense of humor! My son went into the Army some years back (he's a paramedic now), and with a last name like Sunshine, don't you know he got picked on. They made him march with a purse on his shoulder. I'm sure it was not so funny at the time.

Timmy's letter brought back many memories! I still have a SZemper Fi sticker and a Marine Corps emblem on my wall. And it's been 40+ years since dh was in the Corps. Once a Marine, always a Marine! The Few, The Proud, The Chosen.

I'm laughing while reading this letter, with tears in my eyes, as others have. Timmy has a way with words and a great view of his world at boot camp. Please pass on to him my best wishes for a safe completion of his training and very happy holidays.